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User
Soundoffs 6
Album Ratings 90
Objectivity 57%
Last Active 08-07-11 10:26 am
Joined 07-31-11
Review Comments 9
| My Top 10 Blue Note Records Albums
A list of my favourite 10 albums produced by Blue Note Records. | | 1 |  | Dexter Gordon
One Flight Up
Doesn?t seem to be his most well-known album, but for me this is his finest effort
and it is an album I cannot stop listening to. The lead track, ?Tanya?, is 18+
minutes in length, a length quite uncommon for a Blue Note release. This track
really gives the band a chance to stretch out and the fine solos by Gordon and
Donald Byrd are accompanied by Kenny Drew?s repetition of the catchy opening
melody. An absolute gem in my jazz collection and highly recommended to all. | | 2 |  | Lee Morgan
The Gigolo
This was tricky. Lee Morgan was THE trumpeter for Blue Note in the 1960?s, fending
off stiff competition from the likes of Donald Byrd and Freddie Hubbard, and his
discography boasts an amazing array of material. Despite the success of The
Sidewinder and the incredible explorative album Search For The New Land, The
Gigolo for me is Morgan?s finest work. It melds funk (?Yes I Can, No You Can?t? and
?The Gigolo?), proper hard bop (?Trapped? and ?Speedball?), and a nice ballad (?You
Go To My Head?). What?s more, Wayne Shorter joins Morgan on this album. You
couldn?t ask for more. | | 3 |  | Cannonball Adderley
Somethin' Else
This is nominally Adderley?s album, but the contributions of sideman Miles Davis are
quite significant. His take of ?Autumn Leaves? (in which he gets three solos to
Adderley?s one) has to be up there as one of the greatest tracks Blue Note ever
released. From beginning to end this is an album that swings and entertains, with
never a dull moment. A definite shoe-in for my Top 10 and deserves to be in
everybody?s music collection. | | 4 |  | John Coltrane
Blue Train
The only Blue Note session led by Trane boasts a star-studded line-up and the
album doesn?t disappoint the billing. Full of Trane originals with the addition of a
standard, this is heavy hard bop at its best. Personally, Morgan?s solo on the title
track steals everybody else?s thunder, with one of the meanest licks I have ever
heard from a trumpeter. Nevertheless, Trane is dazzling and phenomenal
throughout, and the sidemen support him well. Up to that point in 1957, Trane said
it was his favourite album. It is unsurprising to see why. | | 5 |  | Hank Mobley
Soul Station
This is quintessential of the Blue Note sound that made the label so endearing to
jazz fans. Full of soulful, swinging hard bop, it cemented Mobley?s status as one of
the best on his instrument. Backed by a rhythm trio that had all worked with the
great Miles Davis, this is undoubtedly a hallmark of the label. Mobley and co. groove
their way through a great selection of tracks, with ?Dig Dis? a particular favourite. | | 6 |  | Horace Silver
Horace Silver And The Jazz Messengers
It is a safe bet to say that this is the album that got the hard bop ball rolling. The
original Jazz Messengers line up (Mobley, Dorham, Silver, Watkins, Blakey) make
their way through eight funky, bluesy, gospel-y originals that pretty much solidified
hard bop as a part of the jazz lexicon. Any Blue Note fan will want this one, as it
pretty much opened the floodgates to a new sound. ?Creepin? In? for me is the
highlight of the record but others might disagree. | | 7 |  | Lee Morgan
The Last Session
This might seem slightly out of place on this list, as it is an album not of the 1950?s
and 1960?s, and is the only album I?ve noted here that has significant fusion
elements to it. I partly consider it a classic due to the historical significance of it,
namely being the last material Morgan recorded as leader. It is a great shame that
the man was gunned down at his young age, because this album indicates where
he was going. And it sounds great! It finds Morgan in a slightly larger ensemble than
usual, but all had worked with him previously, and everyone does very well. An
intense listen (it is technically a double-LP album), I particularly recommend ?In
What Direction Are You Headed?? It is a true shame that fate determined Morgan
could not further explore these new sounds. | | 8 |  | Hank Mobley
Thinking Of Home
This makes my list for similar reasons to Morgan?s. Mobley, like Morgan, was a
mainstay on Blue Note, and this is his last effort for the label before medical
reasons essentially put a stop to his career. On this album, for the only time in his
career, Mobley composed a suite, which is certainly the best material on an already
very good album. Woody Shaw on trumpet burnishes his credentials as a maestro
brilliantly. It is the sentimental value mainly, though, that puts this album on my
list. Scott Yanow on Allmusic writes ?It is only fitting that Hank Mobley would
record one of the last worthwhile Blue Note albums before its artistic collapse.? I
couldn?t agree more. | | 9 |  | Art Blakey
Moanin'
I was originally going to leave this album out, but upon reflection that would have
been unforgivable. Certainly the best album Blakey?s Messengers recorded, it is
unique in being the only American-recorded Messengers album to feature the fine
tenor saxophonist Benny Golson in the line-up. The title track, a Bobby Timmons
composition, is one of the most famous Blue Note ever put out, and features one of
Lee Morgan?s greatest solos. Blakey is a monster when it comes to drums and this
album, with its ?Drum Thunder Suite? in particular, gives us another chance to see
just how great he is. There are probably better Messengers line-ups than the one
here, but there is no better Messengers album. | | 10 |  | Bennie Green
Soul Stirrin'
A lesser known artist but nevertheless a fine talent, Green has a nice broad sound
to the trombone that makes this album a joy to listen to. The title track should rank
high with anyone who loves soulful jazz and the remainder of the album is
consistently good. The added dimension of two tenor saxophones accompanying
Green makes the album one of Blue Note?s finest. Historical side note: this is the
only occasion where the great Gene Ammons, a mainstay on the Prestige label,
appeared on a Blue Note album. | |
TheArkitecht
12.13.13 | Love number 9, glorious album. | skeames1214
12.13.13 | I've only heard 9 and 4, but both are sublime. I'll check out some of the other albums on the list.
side note; the venue in my town is named after this label. | Athom
12.13.13 | Nice list. It's always nice to see some hard bop | StallionMang
12.13.13 | Madlib - Shades of Blue | Relinquished
12.13.13 | dev feature this | Athom
12.14.13 | @relinquished I'm not Dev, but the deed has been done. | TwigTW
12.14.13 | Everything I check out on Blue Note Records is always great. It seems like they never put out a bad album. | MisterTornado
12.14.13 | class | Havey
12.14.13 | fine ass list | Chrisjon89
12.14.13 | sweet list. i'm a huge fan of Wayne Shorter's mid 60s stuff on Blue Note, especially Juju. | kingsoby1
12.14.13 | dopeness, mostly bop related stuff here. great picks (some i need to hear). my personal favorites in this era veered towards post bop and free jazz | FadeToBlack
12.14.13 | good list | OysterizerInsomniac
12.14.13 | awesome list, could use some Art Tatum though | DadKungFu
12.14.13 | best featured list in more than a month | Irving
12.14.13 | Says a lot about my musical education that I know nothing about these people and their genre =( | Necrotica
12.14.13 | Great list. I love some good ol' bop. And modal jazz as well, like that Kind of Blue sound | Muisc4Life26
12.14.13 | dope list! | dimsim3478
12.14.13 | "Says a lot about my musical education that I know nothing about these people and their genre =("
Get on it, Irv! Blue Note recs are really some of the most comfortable stuff to get into the genre. | AliW1993
12.14.13 | This is how lists should be. | Fellow
12.14.13 | Many thanks for all your kind comments, and for featuring this! It was quite difficult to compile the amazing array of albums that Blue Note have released into a Top 10 list, and I am conscious that I have excluded some great names - Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, to name just a few.
skeames1214 - The Blue Note club in New York City?
StallionMang - I am ashamed to say that I have never listened to Madlib's Shades of Blue, however I am going to make amends to that tonight.
TWIGtheWONDERKID - Alfred Lion seemed to hold a very high standard, and if it wasn't met, the album was shelved. For example, take Lee Morgan's Tom Cat. This is probably one of Lee Morgan's best albums, but because it didn't match up to other albums he had recorded at the time, it was not released until after his passing.
Irving - As dimsim3478 says, get on it! Blue Note produced some great stuff that most music fans inquisitive of jazz should find quite accessible. Soul Station and Moanin' are both quite accessible albums. | clercqie
12.14.13 | Fantastic list, bookmarked.
Really enjoyed the desciptions, nice job. | qiblas
12.18.13 | 9 is my all time favorite jazz album |
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